My arrival to Conscious Impact was on a whim, but my arrival to Nepal was not. I had been planning to come to Nepal for over a year, with a desire to further my passion for the environment and in organic farming by volunteering. Many of my closest friends were caught in the 2015 earthquake and were lucky to survive without injury. Through their experience, not only of the earthquake but of the incredible time they had exploring this country beforehand, I was inspired early on to come to the mountains.
"I was inspired early on to come to the mountains."
I started my journey by attending a two week Permaculture Design Course (PDC) at Hasera Farm outside Kathmandu. I attended the course to gain more knowledge before volunteering and to learn about Nepali culture and family life through a homestay. After this, I purposely had no plans. And lucky I did not, because there I met three members from Conscious Impact, including Narayan Mama, one of the local Nepali staff. By the end of the course I decided “Sure, why not?”, and followed them back to Takure to see what kind of work they were doing.
It was clear to me after only a few days I was not ready to leave the Conscious Impact Camp anytime soon. Our Nepali staff are so integrated into the projects, and actively participate in decision making. One of the first projects I worked on was helping create an Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) survey. The survey intended to continue discussions with the local community to ascertain existing strengths in order to create connections for new opportunities. At home in Australia, I have always been interested in indigenous issues and know the difficulties of fast paced, disconnected development models. I connect strongly with Conscious Impact's long-term, community focused, and driven style of development.
These days I am heavily involved in the Agriculture Team. Among other projects, I am most passionate about the local run coffee co-op we are helping to establish in Takure. I am interested in reforestry and land regeneration, which is a very big and concerning issue in Nepal. This project highlighted to me the complexities of trying to regenerate the land while creating sustainable livlihoods for the local community at the same time. The co-op model will provide farmers with an alternative, long term and stable source of income, while reforesting the land at the same time.
"I am grateful every day for each person here, Nepali and foreigner, who holds space for me."
This work is often difficult and challenging, but living in community gives us all the much needed support to stay balanced when living and working rurally in a foreign country. I have felt my heart open so much, less focused on the “I” and more on the “We”. From daily yoga practice, to sharing chores, to gratitude reflection before dinner, every act is done with intention, and as a reflection of our collective gratitude for this space and for each other. I am grateful every day for each person here, Nepali and foreigner, who holds space for me.
To continue support my work with Conscious Impact please click HERE
To learn more: www.consciousimpact.org
www.facebook.com/consciousimpact
